That's all folks! Pregnant Holly Willoughby breaks down as she presents This Morning for last time before birth of her third child

Holly Willoughby broke down in tears on Thursday as she bid a temporary farewell to her hosting role on This Morning before going on maternity leave.

The 33-year-old presenter, heavily pregnant with her third child, visibly struggled to keep her emotions in check after joining fellow host and close friend Phillip Schofield for a show run-through.

‘I won’t be gone forever, just for a bit,’ she said. ‘I’m feeling quite weird about it.’

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All too much: Pregnant Holly Willoughby loses her composure after being gifted a leaving cake and flowers on her final This Morning appearance before the birth of her third child with producer husband Dan Baldwin

With the final credits looming Holly was gifted a leaving cake and bouquet of flowers by show guest Amanda Holden – who was unveiled as her hosting replacement last month.

Bye for now: Holly prepares for imminent departure while guest Amanda - unveiled as her replacement last month - looks on

‘She will be watching from the wings to learn the ropes, get a feel of the show as Phil and Holly present the new series. She'll also be here getting to know the crew and daytime bosses.’

Holden will join Phil on the show for four days a week from September with husband-and-wife team Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford continuing on Fridays.

'I'm over the moon to get the chance to present one of my favourite shows on TV and I'm thrilled to be keeping Holly's seat on the sofa warm when she goes off on maternity leave.,’ she admitted.

Emotional: The presenter can't control her emotions as Phil offers a shoulder to cry on

Tissues at the ready: Holly will bow out of the show for the birth of her third child - her place will be filled by Holden and Irish presenter Christine Bleakley

Final show: Holy was close to tears as she did the show run through with Phillip Schofield shortly after going on air

Plenty to smile about: The chirpy star raised a smile before the final credits rolled on Thursday afternoon

Referring to her third pregnancy in June, Holly – a parent to Harry, five and three-year-old Belle with husband Dan Baldwin – admitted she was yet to determine the sex of her unborn child.

‘I really have no idea,’ she said. ‘It's weird with your third. Having had one of each and both pregnancies having been pretty much the same, hand on heart, I really don't mind if I have a boy or girl.

‘I'm lucky to have one of each, anyway. They're both wonderful. What will be will be.’

Addressing her 4.84 million Twitter followers shortly after bowing out, she tweeted: ‘That’s me done, thanks for all your beautiful messages, feeling very emotional… just looking forward to being a mummy again… big love.’

That's me done: The presenter later addressed her 4.84 million followers on Twitter with a farewell tweet